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William Cobb (Prime Earth)
His next attempt on Batman's life is a giant explosion destroying his own recently discovered headquarters. Batman investigates the sewer when Alan Wayne's body was found, and Talon surprises then abducts him. The Court holds Batman in a massive labyrinth for over a week with no food where he goes slowly mad, until Talon finally approaches from behind and stabs him. They sentence Batman to death, and he delivers a brutal beating to the broken man. Finally, the super-hero fights back with his last reserves of strength, and savagely takes the Talon down while his masters flee. Following Batman's escape, the Court of Owls decide to dispose of Talon. Despite his ability to physically recover, he will never mentally recover from the defeat. It is revealed that they have an army of similar warriors. Alfred and Nightwing later discover Talon's body adrift in the Gotham river and bring it back to the Batcave for further examination. Batman strips away the assassin's costume to reveal the body of William Cobb, great-grandfather of Dick Grayson! It seems that William was never truly dead, but rather kept in an odd form of stasis, neither living nor dead, and only awoken when the Court had need of his skills. Night of the Owls While the Batcave was under attack by the other Talons, Cobb remained in his half dead/half alive state on the examination table. However, he somehow broke free, possibly from assistance from some of the other Talons but this is unproven, and attacked Dick Grayson, his great-grandson, at the mayor's office. Though apparently evenly matched, in terms of training, and experience, Cobb's regenerative capabilities, combined with Nightwing's injuries, sustained during his prior fight with another Talon, give Cobb the advantage. Cobb says that Grayson betrayed him by becoming a vigilante instead of a Talon like Grayson was supposed to be. Cobb, disappointed, throws four knives into his descendant, and waits over him, preparing to kill Nightwing. Nightwing manages to get away and proceeds to lead William on a chase through Gotham, and finally down into a subway station. The entire way, William expresses his disgust and disappointment with Dick for turning his back on his birthright to be a Talon, saying that Dick could have been the greatest of them all. Dick finally says he could not care less what his great-grandfather wanted for him and reveals he has led the undead assassin into a trap! He uses his escrima sticks to rupture a cooling pipe overhead, covering William in liquid Nitrogen and sending him back into hibernation. Dick picks up his ancestor's body and carries him outside, first stripping away his Talon mask and tossing it to the floor. He then tells the frozen Cobb that there is no such thing as destiny. Forever Evil: "Arkham War" What happened to William Cobb after his defeat is unknown, however, he somehow ended up in the Court of Owls' hands once more. Due to William Cobb's repeated failures, the Court of Owls pushed William Cobb and a potential replacement named Jonas to fight for the title of Talon. His throat cut, William lost. This time, William was put back into stasis and discarded in the bowels of Blackgate. When the Crime Syndicate arrived on Earth and allegedly killed the Justice League, Gotham City was plunged into chaos because of Batman's absence. The loonies from Arkham Asylum, realizing that fighting between themselves would be futile, decided to break the city up between themselves. However, Bane, wanting the city for himself, lead the prisoners of Blackgate Penitentiary against the Arkhamites, in an unofficial "Arkham War". One of the vital keys to controlling the city was the army of Talons that were in stasis. Bane, attempting to free all of them for his side, was unsuccessful and only managed to keep William Cobb, who became his lieutenant in the war. Cobb, wanting to regain the city with Bane, was forced to fight his Talon brothers, who were brainwashed by the Mad Hatter's technology. Cobb was successful, proving to be the best Talon, and aided Bane in winning the war against the Arkhamites until Bane's defeat when Batman returned. The Dark Gift A few years after the Arkham War, Talon began tracking his great-grandson's movements. Fortunately for Cobb, Nightwing had recently been shot in the head by KGBeast, giving him brain damage. While Dick was able to recover fully, he lost most of his memories in the process, retiring as Nightwing to live in Bludhaven as a cab driver. Talon saw his great-grandson's current mental state as the perfect opportunity to turn him into the Gray Son of Gotham. One day, Talon encountered a drone owned by Lex Luthor. The drone contained a recorded message, which informed Talon that the information he possessed was not sufficient to sway Grayson into the fold. Luthor then offered Talon the information he needed to convert Grayson, free of charge. | Powers = * : William's system was infused with a chemical compound called "Electrum", that could reanimate dead tissue and heal living tissue over and over again. The compound is fueled by body heat. ** : Due to the synthesized electrum in his blood, Cobb can easily survive intense pain. He, in his first encounter with Batman, was thrown off of Wayne tower and survived. ** : Due to the synthesized electrum in his blood, William does not physically age, as he was born in 1901. ** : William possesses a degree of superhuman durability, as he was unfazed by Bruce applying ten times the force it would take to collapse a normal man's windpipe. ** : William possesses a degree of enhanced speed, as he was capable of moving out of an elevator and leaving two dead guards in his wake by the time it took Bruce and Lincoln March to turn their heads. | Abilities = * : The Court of Owls has forged William into a master hand-to-hand combatant. He is able to match Batman blow-for-blow. * : William is a highly skilled swordsman. * : A trained knife-thrower, William has an uncanny aim with his knives, able to hit specific arteries and veins even in the midst of combat. * : William, like all Talons, uses an arsenal of bladed weapons on his missions, ranging from his signature throwing knives to full-sized broadswords and axes. | Weaknesses = * : When Cobb is defeated, he requires an alloy known as electrum to continue functioning. This alloy is supplied by the Court of Owls, but, if the Talon is defeated, they have the choice to cut off his supply. | Equipment = * Paraglider Wings: The Talon, although never used, possesses deployable wings that allow him to glide. This is proven when the other Talons, who wield the same armor as Cobb, jump from the top of a building and glide away. | Transportation = | Weapons = * Throwing Knives: Cobb utilizes antique, professional grade throwing knives that have had their grooves filled with mercury for steadier flight. | Notes = | Trivia = * Cobb was born October 10, 1901. | Recommended = * Batman: The Court of Owls | Wikipedia = | Links = }} Category:Assassins Category:Nightwing villains Category:Circus Performers